You are Beautiful!

 

One of the joys in my marriage was affirming and cherishing my wife. I frequently reminded her of her worth, using words, bringing her small gifts, showing her genuine affection. I was intentional, even after decades of marriage, about speaking words of appreciation and love to her.  “But, Jerry, she obviously knew that you loved her.”  She did, but I knew that her heart was renewed by attentiveness.

Far too many marriages are allowed to slip into routine, two people in a functional relationship that makes life work but lacking the richness that comes from intimacy borne of expressions of love. While Bev was alive, it was my goal to make sure that we remained as ‘in love’ after 40 years as we were in our first year together! 

Think about it - Who doesn’t enjoy being affirmed, receiving words of appreciation?  It would seem to me that too often we are slow to praise but quick to criticize, that we assume things about our relationship that need to be spoken and reaffirmed time and again. 

Now where am I going with this today?
Here’s the question that forms my thoughts – have I allowed my relationship with God to become functional, a kind of  trade-off “I serve You, you bless me” that lacks adoring worshipful love for Him?

Perhaps language about ‘loving Jesus’ is foreign to you or strikes you as being too mystical. Consider the consistent message of the Scripture.

Moses told  the new nation of Israel that they were to "love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, laws, and regulations by walking in his ways." (Deuteronomy 30:16, NLT)
The Psalms speak of worshipful adoration of the Lord God again and again. Jesus tells us that the two basic expectations that God has for us are about love – for Him, for others. 

Christians are described as family – “children of God.”  Paul teaches us that we "should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him “Father, dear Father.” For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children." (Romans 8:15-16, NLT)

We can learn to love God, not abstractly, not just in religious form, but from our hearts. Our prayers should include adoring words, praise, and expressions of love for Him. Can even those words become rote, empty of meaning? Yes, they can but when we train ourselves to be “God aware” we also discover new love for Him.  That is one reason we are taught to live in a constant attitude of prayer. That does not mean we spend our days in a church saying prayers. It means our hearts are never without an awareness of the Spirit.

We need to intentionally love God in our corporate worship, too.  It is quite possible (shockingly? I think not) to go to church and think more about the volume of the music, the temperature of the room, or the manner of the preacher than God Himself. If we sit in the sanctuary but focus on such things while playing on our smartphone, we have missed the heart of worship entirely! 

Kierkegaard, a 19th century theologian, turned worship, as it was then conceived, upside down. Worship, he taught, was not about the performance of the choir or the acts of the liturgy.  

True worship is focused entirely on God.
Our songs, sermons, and prayers are offered up to Him;
the 'Audience of One.' 

The question that becomes important is this one: am I pleasing to God?  Let’s be intentional about loving God! Let’s not allow ourselves to think of ‘worship’ as an event or something we only do in our church buildings. David's Psalm captures the true heart of worship: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14, NLT)  Find a way to tell the Lord how much He means to you right then and there, a 12 second worship encounter. That's the heart of worship!

I know this: if we are worshippers who learn to worship Him everywhere, all the time; if we 'connect' with His Presence during our commute, in our living rooms, at the lunch room table - we will be better worshippers when we come together for corporate worship because we won't be trying 'catch up' on our acquaintance, we will be coming together to celebrate a mutual Friend.

Here is the word from the Word.

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.
Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth.
That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for:
those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.|
God is sheer being itself-Spirit.
Those who worship him must do it out of their very being,
their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."  (The Message, John 4:23-24)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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The Heart Of Worship

When the music fades all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

 

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

 

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You all about You Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You all about You Jesus

 

King of endless worth no one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor all I have is Yours
Ev'ry single breath

Matt Redman

© 1999 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

I need a drink!

 

Human beings generally love being near a body of water. One psychologist calls the lift in mood that so many experience near an ocean or waterfall the ‘blue mind.’  Properties that include a lake view enjoy a markedly higher value. Hotels can charge as much as 20% more for a room that includes an ‘ocean view.’  When I visited Niagara Falls the roar of the water was soothing, the spray in my face a quiet pleasure. Scientists suggest many reasons for all of this, but I’ll just enjoy my walks by the river without a need for explanation!   

There is the refreshing that comes from enjoying a cool drink of water. A Coke™ may be a great thing. A cup of coffee may be a source of joy and energy, but nothing replaces that drink of water on a hot summer day.

We are living in a time of turmoil, our emotions drained by war, pandemic, and political strife. The culture around me is in a time of rapid change, creating a society that I struggle to understand, a world without God, where Self (Ego) is the new god, worshipped with unfettered expressions that laud ‘being me’ regardless of cost to others.  The soul of humanity is parched, barren, and dying. But, I am not in despair!

I think of the words of Jesus that He shouted to the crowds in the Temple courts of Jerusalem.  “Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within.” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit.”) (John 7:37)    “Come and Drink!” He says and our response can be one of faith when we turn to Him. Two things happen:  He renews us with the life of the Spirit and He causes us to become a source of refreshing in the world in which we live – rivers of “living water” flowing from us.

The ancient preacher, Joel, was inspired to write of the era of the Spirit that Jesus brought, a time in which we live. Using the language of plenty and renewal, he spoke of the richness of life we can know because of God’s Spirit. "‘And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-29, NIV) "‘In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD’s house and will water the valley of acacias." (Joel 3:18, NIV)

Friend, have you drank from the well of the Spirit? Are you looking beyond the temporal satisfaction of the things of this world, to be in the Eternal Presence of God, by His Spirit?  This is a gift we can know, a promise in which we live now, as we are baptized in the Spirit. We drink of His living water and become, as the Psalmist sings,  “like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper." (Psalm 1:3, NLT)  Yes, we can flourish, even in the worst of times.

And, we become a source of life in this world, too.  When I read the stories of the first generation of Spirit-filled Christians told in Acts I am inspired by those men and women who went into the darkness of the Empire, with a message of life. They watered dry places and the Gospel seed grew into a tree of life for the world.  Here is one of those stories.  Peter and John met a beggar whose legs were useless.  The man had sat at the Temple’s door for years.  Did they simply feel pity and pat his head as they spoke platitudes of comfort? Not at all!  The Spirit overflowed through those men. "Peter said, “I don’t have any money for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and anklebones were healed and strengthened." (Acts 3:6-7, NLT)  From them a Spring bubbled up that flowed from Jerusalem, to Antioch, across the Empire, and to the world.  Wherever the river flowed, lives were transformed. Sin was defeated, the Kingdom was revealed.

“Lord, let that river flow from my life!” I pray that God would supernaturally cause me to bring refreshing to people that I live among.  I don’t want to be a person whose hateful attitude, whose constant ‘neediness,’ whose love for Self is so all-consuming as to turn my presence into something like a hot, dry wind.  Rather, I desire to be one who brims over with the Spirit Who brings life, healing, and renewal.  Just being a ‘nice’ person is not enough. Striving to be a ‘kind’ man is fine, but that trait is not to be confused with the flow of living waters.  My desire, and I hope yours, too, is to be so full of the Spirit of God that the overflow cannot be contained.

Drink of the water of life and then invite the Spirit to flow from you.

The word from the Word is a blessing that I love and speak often.  Hear it again and let faith arise in you to go and be a life-source in the world.

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:14-4:1, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Holy Water

God I'm on my knees again
God I'm begging please again
I need You
Oh I need You
Walking down these desert roads
Water for my thirsty soul
I need You
Oh I need You

Your forgiveness
Is like sweet sweet honey on my lips
Like the sound of a symphony to my ears
Like holy water (on my skin)

Dead man walking slave to sin
I wanna know about being born again
I need You
Oh God I need You
So take me to the riverside
Take me under baptize
I need You
Oh God I need You oh

I don't wanna abuse Your grace
God I need it ev'ry day
It's the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change

Yeah it’s like holy water on my skin
Oh it’s like holy water

Andrew Bergthold | Ed Cash | Franni Cash | Martin Cash | Scott Cash

© 2019 Angie Feel Good Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

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Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

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We The Kingdom Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

 

Don’t live like orphan

 

A friend of mine who was orphaned in childhood struggled with insecurity for his entire life. Even though loving people adopted him, he always felt ‘different,’ wondering what life was like for those with DNA connections. His insecurity made him feel like nobody really loved him, that he had to work to ‘earn his place’ in the world. The feelings that the word ‘family’ stirred in him were much different than those I felt. I took for granted the love of Dad and Mom, my ‘place;’  my relationship needed no definition, no explanation. I was simply a son.

Do you live like a spiritual orphan?
Do you question your place in God’s family, insecure about His care, without assurance of your Heavenly Father’s acceptance of you?  Those feelings are more common than you might think.  I know many Christians who do not feel like a true son or daughter of God and that has a negative affect on their lives that ripples into every part of life.

Once alienated from God, our Father, we were spiritual orphans, but Christ Jesus came to restore us to the family! Paul assures us that we need no special heritage, no rank nor achievement.  By faith we accept His love! "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you." (Galatians 4:6-7, NLT)   

When my adult children come to visit in my home they make themselves ‘at home.’ They eat whatever is in the refrigerator, raid the pantry, kick off their shoes and relax. They are not guests, they are my kids and my eventual heirs.  Our Father in heaven gives us full privileges of His home and makes us His heirs – because we are His kids.

This Monday morning I want to encourage you to receive the gift of restoration to God’s love through Christ fully.  I want you to know your place in His family that is fully assured through Christ Jesus. Don’t live like an orphan, without home or family.  Let God love you.

So many things in life can work to destroy our peace, to stir anxiety in us, can’t they? Just watch the horrific news out Ukraine for a moment. Maybe your fears are much closer to home rising out of a troubled marriage or a body that is broken. Perhaps you are overwhelmed by the stuff of life – many responsibilities that make you feel inadequate for the day.  You are not alone. You are a child of God.   

You cannot control the arrival of thoughts that tempt you to be afraid or to worry, but you have a choice about your response to those thoughts. You may choose to live like an orphan and persist in worry or you can prayerfully present those threats and needs to the Father Who will grant you the 'peace of God which transcends human understanding.'

The word from the Word is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture, Jesus’ model prayer. Note the opening words that define our relationship with God, then live in the assurance of a beloved child.

”‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’" (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)  Amen.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Who You Say I Am

Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me
Oh His love for me

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I'm a child of God
Yes I am

Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me

In my Father's house
There's a place for me
I'm a child of God
Yes I am

I am chosen not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me not against me
I am who You say I am

Tag

(Oh) (Yes) I am who You say I am

Ben Fielding | Reuben Morgan

© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055